TESTIMONY TIME

It was a small church holding at most a hundred people. Seldom was it filled except at the Annual Missionary Convention time.

So many missionaries came and told of their ministry. While I was excited about all of them, I was most impressed with the little old ladies who worked with the lepers binding up their oozing sores and exposing themselves to the disease. Living in the filthiest conditions where the smell would cause one to retch. They had a dedication that is hardly known in today’s world. They had given their lives to Christ’s ministry to the despised and unwanted.

After these many years their memory still humbles me. They knew and experienced John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” They truly laid down their lives for those they cared for.
This small church we attended helped to support these and others who were sent out to minister to body and soul.

It was at the altar in the front of this church that I was born again. The memory of the transformation within me is as real today as when it happened. I didn’t know what was happening to me as my sin was removed from me and then the Holy Spirit came in to dwell.

Both the knowledge and the feeling have never left. What a gift the Holy Spirit is.

The messages were straight forward. Sin was sin and holiness could not be mistaken for anything but walking in the light of GOD’S word.

The people were old time Pentecostals who were there at the beginning of the last century outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Because of their experiences in the early years they seemed a little strange to me and when they got up to testify you could tell they were from this early time. Sometimes they wouldn’t stop and the congregation would start singing to get them to stop preaching and sit down.

The name of the church was at first “The Glory Barn,” and it remained so until the people felt it would be more dignified to change it to “Bethel Tabernacle.”

Much of my life revolved around there. My spiritual life began there. I met and married my wife there. My children were born while attending there. It is no wonder I still have ties to that church in my memories.

The congregation left that building and moved to another location and changed the name to “Bethel,” this is where my children grew up. Finally the strong supporters of Bethel moved away and after awhile the church closed its doors. Today there is no Glory Barn, there is no Bethel Tabernacle, and there is no Bethel.

One day there will be no people left on earth who hold old Bethel, dear in their memories.

WITH WHAT MEMORY I HAVE LEFT

I can remember way back when I accepted Jesus Christ as the controller of my life there were some things that was unacceptable to Him, or in other words were sin.

Of course in this enlighten age the old viewpoints no longer apply. The new philosophies have taken liberties that see the old ways as being irrelevant for today’s lifestyles. This applies to the constitution of the USA. They have declared it to be a living document that must conform to the lifestyles of the most liberal among us.

The same thing applies to the Bible; as societal changes occur, so must the Bible accommodate said changes in order not to be rejected or at least so say some. Many of those who name themselves as Christian have acquiesced to the demands of this modernist philosophy.

Looking back I remember when fornication was a sin. There was a case when a minister I knew was caught having oral sex with one of his church members, in those days it was an unacceptable act. His defense was, well it wasn’t really sex, but the people didn’t accept his explanation and booted him out.

This type of conduct was made presidential by former President Bill Clinton where he made a similar defense it was okay because “It wasn’t really sex.”

There have been many changes since my early days for some of our greatest leaders in the ministry have validated adultery/fornication as an acceptable practice for Christians.

This includes the great Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson and a host of other leaders including many who are of the homosexual persuasion.

The wives of such leaders don’t usually separate from leaders in high positions because they would lose the prestige they enjoy as wives of these men. One exception was the wife of Governor Mark Sanford who was fornicating with his Argentinean mistress whom he called his “Soul mate.” Jenny Sanford found such conduct unacceptable and divorced him. It was said of her “She didn’t stand by her man, she stood up for herself.”

Though Governor Mark was an Episcopal he felt adultery was an option for him, and he wouldn't allow the word faithful be used in their wedding vows.

Unfortunately this is the position taken by not only people who are leaders but also thousands of those who claim to belong to Christ. While some might protest saying "This isn't what I believe" but their actions, not their words are what counts.

What were called “Shack-ups” are now called “Relationships.” They produce children without commitment to one another. It is a kind of open door policy without strings, where either can leave with impunity.

Apparently many modern Christians have a different view about infidelity than what Christ does and they choose to live their life rather than the Christ life.

In the final analyses Christ knows those who are his, unfortunately there are many whose works betray them, and to whom the Lord will be forced to say, “I never knew you.”

This post is being entered at Tell Me A True Story
at http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/

 

FREE THE BEAST

Having barely escaped the “Flapper era” where women wanted to be skinny and bound their breasts so they looked flat breasted - - I was exposed to the Hollywood “Sweater Girl” treatment led by Lana Turner.

As a small boy who insisted on solid food, I observed that mothers could suckle their offspring, and create a moment of serenity as baby would gently stroke their mother’s breast while satisfying their hunger.

The picture still remains in my mind of my wife feeding and bonding with our offspring in like manner, it was like peace had been personified.

Why anyone would be offended by the most natural act humanity could do, in public or not, shows a depravity of their psyche.     

Men struggle with the beast and women try to control the slut within themselves but due to the help of drugs and alcohol they often lose this battle.

In this age of cutting the flesh and the disfiguring of the skin trying to overcome the feeling inferiority, there will continue to be rage in some form, the latest being - - “Free the breast”

I thought we had got by this idiocy in the sixties.

After viewing on the Internet some of the women marching in Venice California, one could only cry out, “Lord, have mercy, cover those things up.”

America is struggling with the darkness of soul, a battle it seems to be losing.

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YE OLE FLAPPER

A symbol of young women's freedom and independence, the flapper redefined how a new generation of women expressed femininity. Lively and full of energy, she was single but eligible. She dared to shorten her skirts (at first just to the ankles, eventually up to the knees) and bob her hair in a short cut - like a boy's, but longer.

Just as the flapper rejected her mother's long hair, she also discarded Victorian fashions, especially the corset, which accentuated women's curves. Flappers preferred to be slender, even if it meant dieting or binding their breasts and wearing restrictive undergarments to create appear thin, flat-chested, and long-limbed.

Cultivating a flapper image and adhering to modern beauty standards also involved purchasing and applying cosmetics. Wearing lipstick, rouge, and eye-shadow, flappers resembled prostitutes to an older generation.

These young women further blurred the boundaries between respectable and depraved by their public activities; swearing, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, dancing, and dating were among her pastimes. Condemned by most of her elders, the athletic, independent, and sexual young woman nevertheless found affirmation-and pleasure-within a thriving peer culture (unknown)

What was meant to be the assertion the female personage turned out to be a different form of bondage which continues today. What started out to be freedom has ended up being a looseness of moral character. The extension of this looseness in many cases has led to the rejection of the former bond masters (men) and has established a new set of controllers (women over women).

The only thing that restrains this from becoming all out warfare between the sexes is that the natural order of relationships is still in the majority.
The driving force behind this ongoing process is succinctly stated by the words “The darkness of the soul and the rejection of the light that has come into the world.”

A poem written by feminist Dorothy Parker during this age;    

The Flapper By Dorothy Parker

The Playful flapper here we see, the fairest of the fair.
She's not what Grandma used to be, --

You might say, au contraire. Her girlish ways may make a stir,

Her manners cause a scene,

But there is no more harm in her than in a submarine.

She nightly knocks for many a goal, the usual dancing men.
Her speed is great, but her control, Is something else again.
All spotlights focus on her pranks, all tongues her prowess herald.
For which she well may render thanks To God and Scott Fitzgerald.
Her golden rule is plain enough -
Just get them young and treat them Rough!

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TRIBAL MARKINGS

“Every customer is a walking advert” so says Tribal body art.

While there is a defense for every issue, the defense for tribal markings and piercing is inspiring.

Most of it centers around the old justification, “Everybody is doing it.”

I think there must be a better way to deal with the feeling of inferiority than to dye your skin and punch holes in your body.

Without much argument this practice has its roots in heathenism from around the globe. In their quest to out do all others, people have left what they called a fashion statement, and have gone to the extreme to the point of disfigurement.

Many members of the church have been swept up by this particular craze and have tried to baptize this heathen practice in Jesus name and call it holy.

Some go as far as to do the cross tattoo thing.

There are implied sexual overtones in much of this disfigurement, a kind of external body language for all to see.

Some might say; the Bible doesn’t say “Thou shalt not tattoo” but it does say to avoid heathen practices.

Do you suppose that Jesus had his hands and feet pierced as a fashion statement. Do you think he had a fish tattoo on his chest?

If you think that Christians should have tattoo and body piercing then they should also insist that the Lord should include them in their resurrected body, in fact they should be resolute on demanding it.

Do to the fact that many in the ministry are caught up in this heathenish practice then you probably won’t expect much preaching against it.

Though I may have many shortcomings in my life I do not see any answers for me as a Christian in the tattoo/piercing parlor.

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OUR 1936 PLYMOUTH

cousin Sue and our Plymouth

If I asked you what were you doing in 1936 what would your answer be? Probably many of you would say; the world had not yet been blessed with my appearing - - it had to wait a little longer until I arrived.

In the year 1936 I lived in North Carolina, in the town of Cliffside. I went to the first grade there, saw my first movie, and also got a baby brother all in Cliffside.

One other thing we acquired was a new 1936 Plymouth automobile. It was bought F.O.B. at the factory where my dad went to pick it up. It was a fine, brown, four door sedan with about 80 horse power, and hydraulic brakes. We usually had a good car but this was something special.

My dad had a new job in Oakland California, and we had to travel from one coast to the other, which was about 3000 miles. It was a hot and dusty trip; my brother was only 6 months old, and was a little cranky for good reason.

I wasn't allowed to be cranky so I just endured the trip. There were only two lane highways and many detours every so often. It took us around 6 days to make the trip and I was glad we had that nice new car to ride in.

In those days there weren't any motels, as we now know them, but you could rent a cabin for the night. All along the highway we would see signs saying cabins for rent then it was just a matter of selecting the best looking one. I thought this was grand, because they were just like a small house. It gave my mother a chance to wash diapers, and get ready for the next days drive.

Most of the travelers had an evaporating water bag hanging on the front of their cars in case they got thirsty or their car overheated. They claimed that the water evaporation would cool the water inside the bag but it seemed to me that it was always hot.

In the South where I had lived everything was green, but as we came West, from Texas on, it was very dry, especially in the Mojave Desert. I felt that the trip aged me.  

We finally arrived in Oakland, and my dad started his new job, and I entered the next phase of my life for I had arrived in Canaan land at last.

PARALLELISM

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While standing on the sideline watching the run for the presidency one must ask the question “Which one of these candidates can we afford?”

The debates we have just witnessed had to be classed with the reality shows on TV. You have to ask yourself, “This can't be for real, can it?”

Then comes Rick Perry bouncing on the scene like Spiderman spinning his web trying to distance himself from all the others.

The President is trying to display his progress by not riding in the back of the bus - - he has his own bus.

There seems to be a parallel between the desperation of Omar Gadhafi firing a scud missile out in the desert hitting nothing, just stirring up a little dust and Obama’s bus trip where he is slamming every Republican who might be running against him in the upcoming. Gadhafi has a whole arsenal of scuds ready to fire hoping they will hit something. Also so does Obama have his cache of missiles that he will fire off each day.

Realizing that all of this fal-der-ral is orchestrated to create an unreality and to turn our thinking away from the facts, we must come back to the real question. Which one of these people will do the least damage to the USA?

The Republicans are an unknown factor, while we know that Obama will want 5 trillion dollars either in new taxes or more debt increase upon being elected.

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THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

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We stood at the altar and were asked, “Do you” and we said we did.

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I was having a case of numb brain for "I do" was about all I was cognizant of during a period of about three hours which the ceremony and all the aftermath took place.

All I wanted was just to get married, and I had to go through much I felt was unnecessary. So there we stood with happy smiles on our faces, and very much in love.

Fast forwarding five years, there we stood, with three kids, with clenched jaws of determination. We were determined to raise these kids right. Standing there very much in love with little time and energy to express it.

The amazing thing about kids is they can remember every mistake the parents made in raising them, (at least mistakes from their viewpoint.)

After many years and having confessed to being guilty as charged, and being forgiven at least in part we sat with jaws relaxed and very much in love.

We observe with mouths closed, let our children raise their brood as they wish. Our children must have been great kids for they overcame all of our shortcomings and turned out pretty well.

While stopping at a restaurant the other day, I observed a mother of twins across from us. She bought the two year old kids the usual fare of a hamburger and fries and a drink. At first she would give them a fry which they ate and then a bite of burger and a sip.

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After two or three cycles of this the kids discovered that they were other people in the restaurant whereby they would stand on the seat and look at them.

Then they commenced the playing. They would duck down behind the seat and then jump up playing the age old peep eye game. This continued till the mother gave up trying to get them to eat their food.

I thought this mother is either the “Got it all together, coolest mother” I’ve seen or is just completely numbed out - - for she quietly handled situation without any apparent stress.

I didn’t look at her face because I didn’t have my glasses on and without them I would have needed to stare directly in her eyes for a period of time. In this “What are you looking at” psycho world we live in, it’s not a good idea to do that.

Of course both kids had kicked their shoes off under the table which she had to retrieve and put back on. Since she had twins they each had different color shoes on. I suppose that was for quick identification especially at a distance. She had every opportunity to get angry but yet she kept her cool and enjoyed the joys of motherhood.

No matter how rotten your kids have been during the day there is a healing moment that happens when you make the last check on them at night, and you look at their sweet faces. All is forgiven in that moment, all is well and nothing matches this as love flows unstrained from a mother’s heart.

I GOTTA STOP IT

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Sometimes I just don’t control myself, and I offend people especially when I try to interfere with their plans for the future.

I have come to the realization that there are many people who have during their entire life - - planned to go to Hades at death. They have at times done things that weren’t good for them just to insure that they would not be taken to heaven.

These folks fit in several categories. They chose the way that suits them best be it a lifestyle or just disqualifying conduct.

The main issue is they make sure they reject God and Jesus Christ in all they do.

Today we find these people in all walks of life. They may be vile or very religious. In every case they all reject Christ and his offer of eternal life.

They force themselves to not believe in the one true God Jehovah, thinking that God’s existence depended on their believing in Him.

Anyhow I have got to quit disturbing people who are determined to live eternally in the place prepared for the Devil and his angels, and I must stop offending them by suggesting they need God in their life.

So now I wish them well, and when they reach the lake of fire I would like for them to say hello to those who have made it to Hades before them.

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Revelations 21:8 But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death."

 

AS THE TOP SPINS

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As a boy I had a toy top that would spin when activated with a built in auger. All I had to do was push it up and down and it would go faster and begin to make a humming noise. After a while it would slow down and require me to once again to propel it to a fast speed.

The problem was it always needed more stimulus - - much like the way the federal government works today.

Someone has made the statement that; “Today we elect people to serve us and as soon as they are elected they only serve their party.”

Our two (spend and tax) senators in California are a prime example of that statement.

President Obama has been victorious in getting over two trillion dollars to further his program of the redistribution of wealth from the haves to the have not’s. Upon Obama’s reelection the number one item on his agenda will be the raising the debt limit and taxes.

(We should remember that a tax by any other name is still a tax).

So far he has been far more successful in raising money for his reelection than running the country.

Just when I have built my case against redistribution of wealth, I read that Marie Kolstad, Orange County, 83 year old Great-Grandmother, Gets Breast Implants.

 Go figure!

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PARASITIC ECONOMY

"They are living like parasites off the global economy" So says Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, about America.

Having watched the debt debacle as it unfolded in congress, I was taken back to my childhood when I was expected to believe everything my parents said. The politicians talked to us like we were children and didn’t understand what was really going on.

All kinds of figures are being tossed about some of the key ones are; we are going to cut 2.4 trillion dollars in spending over the next ten years (maybe). An increase in the debt of 4 trillion (including interest) to get us by the next election. And according to some, we are the track to add another 12 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years.

As we near the point of no return there are many people who think we can keep borrowing money and raising taxes indefinitely.

I found it interesting listening to one of the better known senators who said that; behind closed doors the discussions were to first tax the rich and then go after the rest of the tax payers.

The faces I saw debating this problem in the congress are to a great extent the same ones who created the problem, Reid, Pelosi, Schumer for starters.

These people will fight to the death (of America) to defend their liberal philosophy.

SURELY Goodness Shall Follow Me

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“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

In Psalms 23 David has found something to be positive about.  In some of his writings he finds other things to complain about but not here.

The Psalms are a reflection of his life’s experiences. The heart of the true shepherd is revealed as opposed to the shepherd in name only; the hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.  So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.

In the back of David’s mind was his responsibility as a good shepherd when he was a lad who tended sheep. He stated that he as a shepherd, defended the sheep and killed both a lion and a bear that was attacking his flock. He led his sheep into good pasture and flowing streams so they were refreshed and were comforted by his presence.

David was thankful and reassured by the shepherd’s two tools, the rod and staff.  The rod has been characterized as a weapon of defense and the staff as a control devise, used when the sheep were out of bounds.

At the anointing of Aaron the first priest, the oil was poured upon his head and flowed down over his whole being, signifying he was completely and entirely anointed.

David’s anointing was total, his cup was full and running over.

His attitude toward his sheep was one of goodness and mercy and he shepherded them to the sheepfold safely. With this background he penned the twenty third Psalm.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

By faith the Christian’s expectation should be; surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

It is so important for you to include yourself in this Psalm, you are one of these who are kept safe in the sheepfold, by the Good Shepherd himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh7oMGew4rE&feature=related

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